To meet the Healthy People 2010 objective to reduce health disparities associated with race and ethnicity will require a greater understanding of the health knowledge, values and behaviors of different groups. This paper reports on a series of in-depth interviews with Chinese women in a moderate-sized (200,000) Midwestern city. The interview schedule was based on the health belief model and focused on the issues of language and culture. Language barriers involved transliteration and translation. Clarifying the cultural dimensions of translation involved perceptions of health and disease, routine and serious, and the understanding and talking about the role of traditional Chinese medicine before and during suggested treatments. Expectations about physician°¯s behaviors complicated communications. Recommendations on how to reduce language and culturally-based barriers are offered.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the participants in the session will be able to: 1) Differentiate between the barriers to health care resulting from problems with transliteration and translation 2) Analyze significance of culture barriers 3) Describe five ways to improve access to health care
Keywords: Access to Health Care, Women's Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.